France urges Journalists, reporters from flying to Syria

Paris: Amidst escalation of violence in Syria, particularly Eastern Ghouta and Afrin region, France’s Foreign Ministry on Friday issued advisories to French media asking them not to send any reporters to the region, urging journalists to return immediately.

French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Agnes Von der Muhll in an official letter sent to the members of the French media said, “In respect of an upsurge in violence in Syria, in particular, Eastern Ghouta and the Afrin region … we would be grateful if you would give up any plans to go to this country or to send reporters there.”

“As you know, any trip to Syria is formally discouraged and those French journalists still present in the country are invited to leave immediately,” she said.

President Emmanuel Macron on Monday had said that the country would be ready to carry out strikes in Syria if it found “irrefutable evidence” that civilians in Syria were killed using chemical weapons, while French Chief of Staff General Francois Lecointre also said in a statement that the country has enough sources to carry out military intervention in Syria.

“The day we, particularly in tandem with our American partners, have irrefutable proof that the red line has been crossed — namely, [through] the use of chemical weapons to lethal effect — we will do what the Americans did more than a few months ago now; we would put ourselves in a position to proceed with targeted strikes,” Macron said during a visit to India.

The UN commission last week released a report of war crimes carried out in Syria using chemical weapons on civilians, Middle East Monitor reported.